Celtic dancers a Force to reckon with

By BERNADETTE RAE

Six times all-Ireland dance champion Adrian Murphy settled in Auckland three years ago and opened an Irish dance school.

Now, he reckons, his students are good enough to hit the professional stage. Consequently, his Celtic Dance Force opens at the Bruce Mason Theatre on Friday.

His troupe of young dancers have toe-tapped and heel-kicked their way well through the blisters stage to master the ancient art of Irish dance.

"Their complex rhythms are tight and their movements swift and fluid," he says. "The principal dancers look bound for the international stage. En masse, they literally kick up a storm.

"Their professionalism is outstanding. They are as good as any dancers found in Ireland."

The Irish dance show, Kiwi style, "builds on the rich heritage of all that has gone before," including the blockbusting international shows Lord of the Dance and Riverdance.

Its opening scene is set in an Irish pub with a comic routine that plays out the cut-throat drama of dance competitions, before moving into some more modern interpretations of Celtic dance, with a nod to highland dance, classical ballet and jazz.

An eight-piece Irish band provides the live music and Elizabeth Walker, the 21-year-old daughter of famous Olympian runner John, is one of two star vocalists.

Walker, a mezzo-soprano, first met Murphy two and a half years ago when she, her mum Helen, and shortly after, her 8-year-old sister Caitlin began lessons at Murphy's school.

While Walker sings one solo in the show and a duet with second vocalist Alistair Riddell, Caitlin appears with the troupe of young dancers performing in the Auckland matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday.

"I just loved the music, the awesome rhythm straight away," says Walker, "and it is great exercise and a lot of fun. Adrian is a fantastic teacher. He is a perfectionist and can be quite stern but he's fair. The standard of dancing in the show is fabulous."

Walker, who has studied singing for the past six years, recently returned from England, where she began to explore the possibility of a professional career in musical theatre.

She did two auditions in England, one for entry to a musical theatre school. "It is what I have always wanted to do," she says. "But there is some fierce competition."